


Hang in the Balance

by BastardPrince



Category: Raven Cycle - Maggie Stiefvater
Genre: Angst, Gen, Sleeping Together
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-29
Updated: 2018-08-29
Packaged: 2019-07-04 00:56:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 792
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15830451
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BastardPrince/pseuds/BastardPrince
Summary: "Jesus Christ, man," Ronan exclaims. "You're such a creepy motherfucker."Noah just shrugs.---A glimpse at two factors in Noah Czerny's un-life: ley lines and Ronan Lynch.





	Hang in the Balance

Tonight was one of the rare nights when Ronan Lynch had been sleeping for more than three consecutive hours. It was a troubled sleep -- Ronan had been tossing and turning so much that his legs were tangled in his sheets -- but it was sleep nonetheless.

Emphasis on the word _was_.

Ronan wakes up to Chainsaw rustling in her cage, her claws clicking against the metal as she moves around. Glancing blearily at the digital clock beside his bed, Ronan groans. _3:58 AM_. Still time before he has to get up, then.

He rolls over and closes his eyes.

"Ronan?"

The whisper comes from the foot of his bed, and Ronan sits bolt upright. He finds himself looking at a very smudgy version of Noah Czerny, Monmouth's resident ghost. 

"Jesus Christ, man," Ronan exclaims. "You're such a creepy motherfucker."

Noah just shrugs. He's used to Ronan's causticity, and he's not wrong.

Looking at Ronan with wide eyes, Noah says, "The ley line keeps fluctuating. Every time the energy dips, I feel like I'm gonna disappear."

Now Ronan understand why Noah looks so pallid.

"Can I stay with you?" Noah sounds hesitant as he asks, afraid that Ronan will turn him down.

Ronan considers for a moment before assenting. He untwists the sheet from around his legs but leaves his comforter on the floor where he had kicked it off earlier. It's too hot for that shit.

Scooting over, Ronan makes rooms for Noah to lie down beside him.

"I'm gonna try to go back to sleep. Do you want some music or something? Or are you gonna watch me sleep, like a fuckin' weirdo?"

Noah accepts the offer of music, and Ronan reaches under his bed to find his headphones. Triumphantly, he holds them up, then hands them to Noah.

As Noah is getting the headphones settled over his ears, Ronan presses play on his phone. He had been listening to music earlier, so his playlist is already queued up and ready to go.

Hearing the music start, Noah looks at Ronan curiously. He pushes the headphones off one ear. 

"Did you dream these? They're not plugged into anything."

Ronan chuckles, a shark-like grin on his face.

"Nope, just Bluetooth, dude."

Once both boys are lying down, Noah taps Ronan's shoulder. 

"Can I -- can I hold your hand? I guess doesn't have to be your hand, but, like, maybe your arm? Whatever you're okay with. It's just, it helps me feel more grounded and, like, _real_ , if I can touch you."

Ronan doesn't say anything, just offers his hand, palm up, to Noah. Noah slots his finger between Ronan's and squeezes gently. 

"Thanks." 

Ronan hums in response and closes his eyes.

Noah pushes the headphones back over his ear and sinks into the music. 

* * *

Not even an hour later, Ronan wakes up again. His hand is abruptly empty, and his headphones are abandoned beside him.

They ley line's energy must have ebbed away and brought Noah with it. Ronan is contemplating the mechanics of ghosts, ley lines, and their influence upon one another when Noah flickers back into existence.

He clutches Ronan's arm the way a castaway might clutch a piece of debris that was keeping him afloat.

As Noah draws energy to become corporeal, the air in Ronan's room becomes wintry. Suddenly, Ronan wishes for the comforter he left on the floor. Noah's cold, bony fingers are digging into his bicep. Ronan struggles to inhale, the icy air burning his throat and lungs.

The chill dissipates as Noah starts to look less like a spectre and more like a boy.

"Please," he gasps, "No no no, I don't wanna."

Noah still has Ronan's arm in a death-grip.

"Noah?" Ronan tries to sound self-assured, but he's not really sure how to comfort a ghost. "Noah, it's okay. You're back. Everything's okay."

Eventually, Noah's breathing goes from nonexistent, to shuddering, to relatively steady. He's still holding onto Ronan's arm like it's the only thing keeping him from being snuffed out by the ley line. 

When Noah appears to have calmed down, Ronan asks, "What happens to you when you disappear?" 

"It's like -- like I'm slipping through time." Noah squeezes his eyes shut. "I can't control anything. I get dragged through the past and future, but I can only catch tiny fragments of thoughts. Sometimes I see things from when I was alive. My family." He swallows hard.

Ronan, who knows all about losing family, doesn't press Noah for details.

They lie in silence for a few minutes.

"Well," Ronan says, "I doubt I'm gonna fall asleep again. Whaddaya say we go do some donuts in the BMW?"

Grateful for the distraction, Noah follows Ronan out of Monmouth and into the early morning light.


End file.
